Conventionally, a device for the detection and notification of a pedestrian at an intersection is disclosed in Japanese patent publication 2008-176648 (JP '648). In JP '648, a roadside device detects a pedestrian on and/or around the crosswalk. When a pedestrian is detected, the roadside device provides information regarding the detected pedestrian to a vehicle that is turning onto the street that includes the crosswalk where the detected pedestrian is located. An in-vehicle device disposed in the vehicle notifies a driver of the vehicle through sound or image of the detected pedestrian. In such manner, the driver is alerted of a pedestrian who is going to walk across the street on and/or around the crosswalk.
The in-vehicle device disclosed in JP '648 notifies the driver of the pedestrian based on the information received from the roadside device in the same notification mode, regardless of a pedestrian condition. That is, whenever a pedestrian is detected, without regard to whether the pedestrian is in-sight of the driver or not, the driver is notified of the detected pedestrian. Notifying the driver of every one of pedestrians, including already-noticed pedestrians in the sight of the driver, may be a nuisance for the driver, especially when such notification is provided in a high attention calling manner. For example, at an intersection of multi-lane traffic, the crosswalk is filled with pedestrians. In such a situation, the driver in a turning vehicle may feel unnecessarily warned and/or stressed, if he/she is notified of all the pedestrians on and around the crosswalk in a high-attention calling manner.